◎ Third update ◎ 

Zhou Guoping took his sons Xiaolong and Xiaohu to the entrance of the alley to buy some steamed buns. When they left, Liu Nianhua, who had been concentrating on knitting gloves at home, was now sitting on a bench with a dazed expression. They don’t know what she was thinking about. 

“Mother.” 

“Mother, big steamed buns!” Xiaolong was holding five old dough steamed buns, which were for tomorrow’s breakfast, but the two brothers were greedy and wanted to eat one right away. 

Xiaohu broke the plump white bun into several pieces and shared them with his father, mother, and brother. 

Zhou Guoping took it with a smile while savoring the fragrant aroma, “Your mother doesn’t like it; you can eat it yourselves.” 

Liu Nianhua suddenly reacted after hearing these words and looked up at Zhou Guoping. 

Whenever the family eats or buys food, Liu Nianhua always thinks of giving food to her husband and children. Zhou Guoping has replaced Liu’s father’s job as a bus driver and he often talks about how hard his work is and how he drives the bus all day. Liu Nianhua feels distressed. But before she got married, her family was well off, with good food and clothes. In the first two years after her marriage, she was a fashionable woman who loved to dress up and stood out in the courtyard. 

But she didn’t know when she had given up everything. She was reluctant to eat and wear good clothes herself. Even when everyone shared a steamed bun, she didn’t want a piece. 

In fact, did her family really lack this steamed bun? 

“I want to eat. Xiaohu, bring it to mother.” Liu Nianhua said, looking at Zhou Guoping with a trace of doubt in her eyes. She ate the steamed buns fed by her son and asked casually, “Baozhen and Caili came here just now and wanted to ask me to go shopping in the department store on Sunday.” 

“Department store? The things in there are so expensive.” Zhou Guoping said instinctively while coaxing his wife, “They both have jobs and spend money lavishly. Don’t learn from them.” 

Liu Nianhua felt a little tight in her chest, and her lips moved as she continued, “I heard that Lihua brand scarf is popular in the city now. I want to buy one, too. I haven’t worn a scarf in years.” 

“What’s so good about that scarf? It’s ten yuan a piece. Are you willing to spend that? How much meat can you buy with ten yuan, right, Xiaolong?” 

Xiaolong was playing nearby and agreed with his father’s words, “That’s a lot of meat! I think we can eat it until the New Year.” 

Liu Nianhua didn’t say anything more. Zhou Guoping’s words kept ringing in her ears, but she couldn’t take in a single word. This man even knew how much a silk scarf sold for—something she didn’t even know. 

*** 

Liang Baozhen had been busy all day. After taking a break, she looked at Xu Shengjie again and felt that this man was a bit stubborn and was unwilling to take her to the black market. 

She took off her coat and got on the bed. Liang Baozhen felt Xu Shengjie coming up as soon as she lay down. She decided to continue being angry with him, so she turned over and lay facing the wall, leaving him with only a cold but smooth view of the back of her head. 

Xu Shengjie really didn’t expect his wife to be so brave that she would want to go to the black market. Although the black market in the city was more hidden and ordinary people couldn’t find it, everyone was worried about being caught. In the black market, if there was any sign of trouble, people scattered quickly. He was concerned about taking Liang Baozhen and encountering any problems. 

“A few years ago, a female comrade was arrested for selling cloth tickets.” Xu Shengjie looked at the cold back of her head and spoke. Liang Baozhen had a nice round head, and with her black hair, even the back of her head was pretty. “At that time, she was paraded around with a sign that read ‘Cloth Ticket Seller,’ and was eventually sentenced to four years.” 

The cold shoulder moved slightly. Xu Shengjie knew she was listening but remained silent. 

“If I took you in and we happened to run into people coming to arrest speculators, I could escape quickly, but I’m worried about you. I don’t care if something happens to me, but what if you get mistaken for a speculator?” 

“What do you mean you don’t care when something happens to you?” Liang Baozhen turned around abruptly. She felt something was wrong when she heard Xu Shengjie’s words. This man had a problem with his thinking. “If you get arrested, what will happen to Grandma? What will happen to Xiaowei and Xiaoya? This family would fall apart.” 

Xu Shengjie looked at Liang Baozhen. When she got angry, her delicate cheeks would puff up, her red lips would be slightly pouted, and she would mumble to express her dissatisfaction. Even her speech speed became much faster, and her usually gentle eyes flashed with a gleam of dissatisfaction. 

“What about you?” After hearing what she said, she mentioned everyone but herself. Xu Shengjie didn’t mind reminding her. 

“Me?” Liang Baozhen smiled and looked at Xu Shengjie’s slightly anxious eyes. She changed her tone and said with a smile, “Then I’ll bring you meals and make sure you eat well ” 

As she was talking, she couldn’t continue and started laughing. The man grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer. 

Xu Shengjie has long fingers. He put his big hands around his wife’s wrists. He couldn’t help but sigh that his wife was so delicate everywhere, even her wrists were so thin. He gently stroked them a few times and laughed softly, “Zhenzhen, you’re really ruthless.” 

Liang Baozhen felt a tickling sensation on her wrist from Xu Shengjie’s touch and her ears tingled when she heard him call her Zhenzhen. 

In the warm room, Liang Baozhen’s anger faded away. 

*** 

In the first few days after Liang Baozhen started working at the State Cotton Factory, she followed Meng Ping to learn everything from how to spin cotton yarn and fabric to understanding the workers’ daily routines. 

Both she and Wang Xin were smart and could pick up the process quickly. Soon they began to follow Meng Ping’s instructions. After joining the company, new workers comprehensively learn the entire textile process and experience every step. These past two days, the two have been working in the fine yarn workshop. 

The cotton is processed through several stages to become coarse sand before entering the fine yarn workshop where it is spun into fine yarn. Wang Xin worked as a yarn stopper, and Liang Baozhen worked as a yarn changing operator. After a busy day of work, they were both covered in sweat. 

Meng Ping checked the two people’s work processes and made sure there were no problems before leaving. 

“I feel like it won’t be long before we can become regular employees.” Wang Xin saw that sister Meng looked satisfied. It seemed she had a good opinion of both her and Liang Baozhen.  

“Then the salary can be increased by ten yuan, right?” 

“Yes, the benefits for regular workers are good. The workshop draws lots from time to time. I heard that last year, a worker won a bicycle ticket in the draw!” Speaking of bicycles, Wang Xin felt envious. 

“You’ve always wanted to buy a bicycle, right?” 

“Of course, who doesn’t want to buy one? It’s a pity that there are no tickets.” Wang Xin’s family had some spare money and could afford a bicycle, but without a ticket, she was worried. 

“Have you ever been to the black market?” Liang Baozhen asked quietly. 

“No!” Wang Xin was worried that someone might hear what Liang Baozhen said. “Going to the black market was risky. If you get caught, you could end up in big trouble. Baozhen, don’t go there.” 

“I haven’t been there.” Who would be foolish enough to admit they wanted to go to the black market? It was like handing out evidence against oneself. 

Liang Baozhen could see that most people were afraid. It was true that the black market was seen as shady and dangerous, and those who dared to trade there did so cautiously and discreetly. 

After all, that day, until the very end, Xu Shengjie did not give in. He only said that if there was really something he couldn’t buy, he could look for it on the black market himself, but he was determined not to let her set foot there because it was unsafe. 

*** 

When the weekend came, on Sunday, Liang Baozhen planned to go with Cheng Caili to the department store. She could not miss the opportunity to buy cloth. Zhou Yun said that this year there was a big happy event in the family; with a new addition in the family, they had to make beautiful new clothes for the New Year. 

In the past years, she had saved up some cloth tickets. Now she could take out tickets worth thirty feet of cloth at once. She planned to gradually collect cloth tickets over the next six months and choose the most elegant and high-quality fabric to ensure everyone in the family had new clothes. 

Cheng Caili had a clean and neat short haircut and wore a beige checkered shirt, a beige skirt, and black leather shoes, looking very stylish. 

When she went to Xu family’s house, Cheng Caili greeted Xu Shengjie with a smile, “Xiao Xu, I’m borrowing your wife for a bit.” 

Xu Shengjie smiled at Cheng Caili’s words and pointed to the room, “Baozhen will come out soon.” 

Liang Baozhen had just finished breakfast and hurriedly packed up her things and rushed out. She slept late yesterday and almost didn’t get up today. Before going out, she looked in the mirror, adjusted her braids, and then got ready to leave. 

“Grandma, I’m leaving.” Liang Baozhen passed by Xu Shengjie, glanced at him, but didn’t say much. 

“Go ahead, and make sure to pick out some good fabric.” 

In the afternoon, Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen were planning to buy a bicycle, so she and Cheng Caili needed to finish their errands before noon. 

The two of them walked out hand in hand. Cheng Caili was very friendly and asked Liang Baozhen about her work. She also talked about her own experience when she first started working at the supply and marketing cooperative, which made their conversation feel more familiar. 

“If you need anything next time, I can keep an eye out for you. Our supply and marketing cooperative can handle some defective products every month. Last month, we handled a dozen towels. They were made by the towel factory. There were some problems before leaving the factory, so they were sent to us for sale at a discount. Our director received them as employee benefits. The towels were half the price, but the color on them was not dyed well. It was a great bargain.” 

“Sister Cheng, you’re too kind.” 

“Don’t be polite. Just come out with me for a walk when you’re free.” Cheng Caili was well-informed and knew that the department store had a new batch of dike cloth today, so she hurried over to get it. 

This time, the department store had six colors of dike cloth, which is produced by the State Cotton Factory. Cheng Caili smiled and joked, “Even though your factory produces it, you still have to come here to buy it. That makes me feel better.” 

“Sometimes the factory can give some defective cloth to workers, but there’s more demand than supply, so it’s hard to get them,” Liang Baozhen had heard that Sister Meng had managed to get a batch of defective cloth from the factory a few days ago. 

“These days, everywhere is crowded, it’s indeed difficult.” 

At the department store, Liang Baozhen managed to buy ten feet of deep blue dike cloth and five feet of apricot red dike cloth. 

“Next month, when the supply and marketing cooperative gets new cotton, buy a few pounds. It will be warmer for the winter.” 

Cheng Caili would not treat herself badly. She and Lu Yuan’s parents were both workers, so they had a small family burden, and their own family had good living conditions. 

“Then remember to call me to come with you when the time comes.” Liang Baozhen put away the money and tickets and walked out with the cloth in her arms. “Grandma also said that we need new cotton this year. The ones from previous years have flattened out and are not as warm.” 

Here’s the corrected version: 

“Okay.” Cheng Caili was impressed when she heard that the Xu family was going to buy a bicycle. Only Uncle Wei’s family and her own family had bicycles in the courtyard. “When you and Xiao Xu go to buy the bicycle this afternoon, remember to choose a sturdy one that will last many years. The one we have is the Fei Ge brand, which is good. My colleague from the supply and marketing cooperative bought the Phoenix one two years ago; it is also good, but a little expensive. Oh, and don’t buy the Xing’an brand; their wheels are prone to breaking. My eldest brother’s family bought one, and the chain kept falling off…” 

Perhaps it was due to her occupational disease, Cheng Caili introduced all the major bicycle brands to Liang Baozhen in great detail and wanted to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each brand. 

Liang Baozhen really didn’t know much about bicycles. She had only seen commune cadres riding them in the village. Two years ago, Liang Baojun borrowed one from the commune accountant for half a day. That time, she learned how to ride a bicycle from him and learned it pretty well. 

“I’ll make sure to remember everthing. Thank you, Sister Cheng.” 

The two of them returned home, each carrying a bag of cloth. When they walked into the courtyard, they saw Lu Yuan, who had just returned from a business trip. He was standing at the door with an untidy beard and was trying to find the key to open the door. 

“Why did you come back early?” Cheng Caili was very surprised. Lu Yuan was originally scheduled to come back tomorrow. 

“I’m done with my work, so I decided to head back right away.” Lu Yuan took the cloth from his wife’s hand and nodded to Liang Baozhen, “Did you two go to buy some cloth?” 

“Yes, look at this color, it’s so beautiful. In a few days, we’ll ask Jingjing to help cut it and make clothes.” 

“Sister Cheng, Brother Lu, you guys take your time chatting; I’m going to go home first.” 

Cheng Caili looked at Liang Baozhen and repeatedly reminded her, “Hey, remember what I said, don’t buy Xing’an’s bicycle!” 

“Got it!”